Right now — nothing. Aside from a quick, and might I add pretty painful, hit to stock prices of insurance carriers like Cigna, Aetna and UnitedHealth, there won’t be any immediate repercussions.

What can be speculated though is that these three enormous companies will make potentially huge waves as they pull employees off current major carriers’ services. Depleting members reduces the pool of money that insurance carriers will have for their own claims and administration. If the majority of those leaving are young, healthy people, some Americans could see an increase in costs for their insurance plan — on top of already rising prices in the industry overall.

On a more positive note, new enthusiasm and innovation might just be what the industry needs. Having new blood in an incredibly old, often entrenched system might spur creative strategies to encourage savings. Major carriers across the country will have to do something to shore up for the changes this new company could bring.

Ultimately employees of the three companies will benefit first as the new healthcare company will be staged to take care of just them as a starting point. If Bezos statement rings true after this initial step, it may benefit “potentially, all Americans” by providing healthy competition into an ever-shrinking market.

Last week ClaimLinx conducted a trial of a change to our customer service phone operator from a local attendant to an auto attendant. We believe this transition will ensure members and administrators will reach their desired departments faster, and with less front-end explanation.

This change will remain permanent for the foreseeable future. We have already seen an improvement in our call efficiency. We have found members are able to reach the claims department quickly, without having to explain their issue to multiple people.

Below are the options all callers hear when reaching the general ClaimLinx customer service numbers, (800) 858-1772 or (513) 677-6262.

Dial 1 – If you are a member or provider’s office calling about claim status, benefits or eligibility

Most companies still purchase their health insurance plans the same way they did 10-20 years ago. They go to an insurance agent and choose a traditional group health insurance plan through a major carrier.

Purchasing health insurance this way means you’re able to cut costs because you’re no longer prepaying the insurance company for services employees don’t need or use. It’s a way of redistributing the funds for your plan so you can get the most out of it.

Not only that, but also the ClaimLinx Simple Option Solution offers an opportunity to take the savings and reinvest it in employees’ benefits or anywhere else in the company.

Stop paying for insurance the same old way and see what a change can do!

Like the rest of the country, we were astounded last week while watching the amount of destruction and tragedy Hurricane Harvey brought to Texas. There’s no doubt the road to recovery, especially for the city of Houston, will be long and difficult.

To do our part, ClaimLinx donated this week to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund established by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the storm, especially our clients and members in Texas. Any person or company can make a tax-deductible donation to this fund.

Or you can give to one of the charities below. There are so many organizations vital to helping the people in Texas.

At ClaimLinx, we have seen even our own employees health and productivity affected by the stress of their work. That’s why this year we had each of our employees attend a Ritemind Stress Less Workshop.

Through these private online sessions, our whole team learned how to identify and cope with stress in more productive ways, a vital tool as we all move into the busier season of Fall and the holidays.

We encourage all of our clients to use their savings to invest in employees through programs like these. Please see the information sheet about their sessions and the workshop.